Ignotus Pál és a Szép Szó = Ignotus Pál and the Szép Szó literary journal

Veres, András (2026) Ignotus Pál és a Szép Szó = Ignotus Pál and the Szép Szó literary journal. IRODALOMTÖRTÉNETI KÖZLEMÉNYEK, 130 (2). pp. 149-159. ISSN 0021-1486

Preview

Text 04_VeresA_INT.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike. Download (161kB) | Preview

Abstract

Ignotus Pál wanted to help the young leftist generation, which was critical of the Hungarian status quo amid the rise and threat of Nazi power, to establish its own magazine. Although their collaboration was prompted by their opposition to the New Intellectual Front, which supported Prime Minister Gömbös Gyula, their real driving force was to counterbalance Válasz, the journal that united the “popular” camp. IgnotusPál and Szép Szó consciously sought to continue the “urban revolution” that had been marked by the turn-of-the-century literary journal Nyugat. The study presents the background to the founding of Szép Szó and the relationships between its main figures. Although Ignotus was aware that József Attila posed a risk due to his illness and poor mental state, he still took him on, not only because he recognized the significance of his poetry, but also to ward off the racially based attacks that could be expected from official cultural policy and the folk camp. Although Fejtő Ferenc, who was involved in the editing, also took part in the ideological debates, Ignotus (until he chose to emigrate) remained the primary shaper of the intellectual image of the magazine. He was the successor to the bourgeois radical tradition—adapted to the changed circumstances—which in his father’s generation was represented above all by Jászi Oszkár’s liberal and socialist ideas. They only partially succeeded in counterbalancing the challenge posed by Válasz. They had a real talent for criticism, but not for preaching, which they rejected from the outset. The international situation also developed unfavorably for them. As early as 1936, it seemed that the whole of Europe was in crisis; the proliferation of dictatorships showed that the Nazi takeover was not a one-off aberration, but a developmental model. Both at home and in Europe, they represented a minority position – but this only increases the value of their stand.

Actions (login required)

Edit Item